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Our Clients Client News NORTH TEXAS CLEAN AIR COALITION UNVEILS NEW PUBLIC SERVICE CAMPAIGN ARLINGTON, Texas (June 25, 2001) - The North Texas Clean Air Coalition unveiled its new public service campaign at a press conference Monday, June 25, 2001. The North Texas Clean Air Coalition (NTCAC) creates an annual campaign to educate the public on air pollution issues. The 2001 campaign focuses on vehicle emissions and ways the general public can help improve air quality. "In developing this year's campaign theme we had the task of illustrating a problem most of us don't know about - vehicle emissions," said Micah Causey, Chairman of 2001 NTCAC Marketing Committee. "The reason we don't know about it is you often can't see emissions as they come from your vehicle. So, to illustrate the need for regular vehicle maintenance, we made the invisible - visible." For the commercial, animators designed an effect so that purple-colored pollution erupts from the tailpipes of vehicles as they travel through town. Unsuspecting people are sprayed with the purple pollution. The commercial starts with a husband giving his wife a goodbye kiss before heading to work. As he starts his car, she is sprayed with purple pollution. The camera then follows a van on its way to school. Kids pile out of the van covered in purple pollution. Next we follow a delivery van that sprays purple pollution on diners at a downtown café. Finally we follow a car spraying purple pollution as it heads into a garage for a tune-up. The mechanic is sprayed as the car enters. After the tune-up the car exits the garage minus the purple pollution eruption. A second car pulls in - spraying purple pollution. During the commercial a narrators says, "It's all around us, but since we can't see it, we don't think about it. Vehicle exhaust is polluting the air … and us! It's a dirty problem with a clear solution - regular vehicle maintenance. And it's not just older vehicles that pollute. The truth is all vehicles need regular, inexpensive maintenance. So, maintain your vehicle regularly. Share a ride or use mass transit. Stop polluting North Texas, and Do Your Share for Cleaner Air." The radio PSA follows a similar pattern with the vehicle emissions illustrated through sound effects. "We took a more diverse approach in the print portion of the campaign," Causey said. "These PSAs feature a yellow memo with a To-Do list or checklist of things to accomplish. The checklist includes: getting an oil change, staring a car pool and purchasing a transit pass. These will be used by DART and The T on buses and Trinity Railway Express railcars." "North Texas Clean Air Coalition members selected vehicle maintenance as the key message for this year's campaign to emphasize the fact that we can do something about air quality in this region," said Win Colbert, spokesman for NTCAC. "This is an area with a tremendous potential to improve air quality. Most people are not aware of the significance of vehicle maintenance on air pollution. A well-maintained car is more efficient and therefore produces far fewer harmful emissions. There are several types of vehicle maintenance that anyone can do. And we also ask everyone to ride DART and The T or participate in a carpool." The Coalition encourages people to · Change vehicle oil and oil filter regularly, · Keep tire pressure and alignment correct - low tire pressure can waste up to 5 percent of a tank of gas, · Change fuel filter and air filter according to manufacturer's recommendations, · Monitor hoses, wiring and belts, · Give vehicle regular tune-ups according to manufacturer's recommendations and · If a warning light comes on, find out why and fix it. Traditionally May 1 through Oct. 31 is considered Ozone Season in North Texas due to excessive ground-level ozone production associated with meteorological conditions typical in summer months. These conditions include high temperatures and low winds. The NTCAC was formed in 1993 to educate North Texans about air quality and encourage individuals to "do their share for cleaner air." NTCAC members include the North Central Texas Council of Governments, the North Texas Commission, the Greater Dallas Chamber, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART), SPAN, The Fort Worth Transit Authority (The T), and numerous individuals and businesses. 2001 Public Awareness Campaign sponsors include TXU Electric & Gas, General Motors' Arlington Assembly Plant, American Airlines, Tom Thumb, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, OxyChem Corporation, WFAA-TV Channel 8, Univision and Pier 1 Imports. InterStar Marketing & Public Relations of Fort Worth and Aires Productions of Arlington developed the campaign creative and overall media relations. Also, as part of the campaign, Dallas-based Cinco Media will target the Hispanic market and Fort Worth-based Ware and Associates will target the African-American market.